First Wilson on Saturday and then Dinesh Gorai on Monday, two alleged land mafias were arrested by Asansol North police station as Asansol Durgapur Police Commissionerate’s (ADPC) tirade against illegal activities was strengthened after directives from chief minister Mamata Banerjee.

While Wilson, who was sent to seven days police custody, was arrested in a case relating to the illegal filling of a pond, Dinesh Gorai was forwarded to court and taken to eight days police custody.

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Both were engaged in illegal activities on both sides of the golden quadrilateral highway, mostly on agricultural and vested lands. There are allegations of grabbing even ponds after filling them on government land.

In Durgapur too, the house of Chinmay Mondal, an alleged sand mafia was raided by Durgapur Police, but he managed to flee before the search operations began.

It is alleged that all of them enjoy huge political clout and are very close to the local top leadership of the Trinamul Congress and the police.

Raniganj Police have started filling up the rat hole illegal coal mines with bulldozers and seized coal extraction machinery in Punjabi More area in the last few days.

Already, a former TMC councillor and husband of a former TMC councillor of Durgapur Municipal Corporation have been arrested by Durgapur Police allegedly for scrap iron and sand smuggling.

Two cops, OC of Barabani police station were suspended and IC of Kanksha police station was removed for failing to stop illegal activities in their respective areas.

After the directives of Mamata Banerjee to DGP Rajeev Kumar at Nabanna, maximum search operations and raids and arrests were made by the ADPC.

Durgapur Police also raided the palatial house of Chinmay Mandal in Durgapur, he was allegedly engaged in illegal sand mining in the region, sources said. He has absconded since the search operations started in the ADPC area.

Most of the illegal coal mafias, scrap iron mafias and land and sand mafias have fled away fearing arrests since the raids have been conducted since Friday afternoon.